This invention relates to analytical systems and methods for biological fluids such as serum and urine. In particular, this invention relates to chromatographic systems for multiple drug analyses in biological fluids.
A wide range of analytical methods are known for the detection of toxic drugs in serum or urine. The most common techniques are those involving immunological interactions and those involving chromatographic separation. Immunological techniques directed at single species can provide highly accurate information regarding the presence and amount of the species in question. When a single immunological assay is used for multiple drug detection, it will generally detect only drugs of a particular class, and will not provide identification of the specific drugs which are present or their concentrations. Chromatographic techniques, including thin-layer chromatography, high performance liquid chromatography and gas chromatography, may permit detection of a multitude of drugs at the same time, but generally require extensive sample preparation and a total analysis time of 1-2 hours. Neither immunological nor chromatographic techniques as presently known are useful for rapidly analyzing wide ranges of drugs.